Saturday was jam-packed with events. We wound up taking a break in the middle. Unfortunately that led to missing a good portion of the BMX Dirt finals because there weren’t a lot of restaurants open on the side of town close to the stadium.

MOTO X STEP UP

Bad luck for Bryce Hudson, getting eliminated first and dislocating his shoulder. Then he proposed to his girlfriend and she said “yes” so he still won in the end.

Colby Raha showed that you also need to remember to go forward, as well as up, to clear the bar.

Jarryd McNeil could’ve gone a few feet higher, but he did what was necessary to get the gold. Later I learned that he didn’t immediately go to the interview/waiting area because he threw up from nerves. Hopefully next year will be more relaxing (as much as that is possible for Step Up).

WOMEN’S SKATEBOARD STREET

Mariah Duran was on fire! She’s really upped her game.

Leticia Bufoni and Alexis Sablone were the most consistent in landing their runs.

My parents opted to not watch the finals due to all the misses/falls in the qualifier. They missed out on a great competition, and everyone was landing their tricks.

I came with a mission to get Lacey Baker to sign her “Push with Pride” print. At first, she didn’t notice me, but the guy next to me called out to her. Thank you fellow fan! She looked tired so we didn’t talk, but I appreciated that she did take the time to sign autographs.

Friday was jam-packed with events, and I got Floor Access too. Unfortunately, I had forgotten when access started, and the ticket didn’t say when. One volunteer said I could go down in the morning so that’s what I did. Then I got kicked out of one area, forbidden from another, and then invited in the media platform behind the photographers for a portion of the Women’s Skateboard Street Qualifier.

Women’s Skateboard Street Qualifier

The skaters seemed really chill even if it was a tight competition for the final qualifying spots.

Nanaka Fujisawa did really well for a newcomer (and a young’un).

Mariah Duran was ON. Both of her qualifying runs were among the highest scoring.

Then there’s Alexis Sablone, whom you can count on for hitting some of the biggest tricks.

Being on the floor was too nerve-wracking so I decided to head back up for to join my parents to watch BMX Dirt Qualifiers. Unfortunately, all the doors look the same, and I got lost, wound up where all the athletes were, and then finally found another elevator with some VIPs. As a result, I missed a chunk of the BMX Dirt Qualifiers but I caught the second runs.

BMX Dirt Qualifiers

Everybody was pulling out all the stops. Who was going to enter the final kept changing up to the very end it seemed, and some former gold medalists like Ryan Nyquist and Kevin Peraza didn’t make it.You can always count on Kevin for great extension.

When did cash rolls and tailwhip backflips become staples?

My mom knows nothing about action sports or how scoring works for any event, but she was very impressed with Brian Fox’s first run.

Dawid Godziek was a name I wasn’t familiar with, but I’m gonna remember it how huge he went.